


What is LOVE?

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Analysis, Angst, EXP and LOVE (Undertale), Emotional Hurt, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Killing, Meta, Nonfiction, Psychology, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Undertale Neutral Route, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22683370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: Argues that the LOVE mechanic in Undertale is specifically the degree of emotional detachment or distance from others, which makes killing others easier.
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

_In which a beautiful hypothesis is destroyed by ambiguous and contrary evidence._

__

## LOVE

> “LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for “Level of Violence.” A way of measuring someone’s capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others.

Killing other humans is naturally very difficult. Although the killing is cross-species in _Undertale_ , the fact it’s a person killing other people would (in-universe) make it similar to real-life acts of murder. Judging by the emphasis on “distancing yourself”, LOVE is likely a measure of detachment, estrangement, and distancing. It’s hardening one’s heart to make it easier to keep killing, and to protect oneself from the pain, trauma, and turmoil of inflicting death. Those with a greater (mental) capacity to hurt are probably those with mental “war adaptations”, for killing is indeed easiest when there’s some emotional or mental distance between one’s target and deeds. (e.g., (e.g., “engage the enemy”, not “kill that person”) In other words, those who distance themselves have a greater “capacity to hurt”.

As well-shown in war, there are many methods to “distance” oneself while killing, and there are some parallels between real-life distancing and _Undertale_. One kind of distancing, emotional distance, removes inhibitions against killing people and lowers the emotional pain of the deed. De-individuation shows the enemy as a faceless mass, devoid of distinct identities: one mows down faceless waves of enemies, not individual people. It is easier to kill “a pig” than “Wilbur the pig”, and easier to say “I killed _a_ Froggit” than “I killed _Froggit_.”

Another detachment method is dehumanization (depersonization?): characterizing one’s foes as wild beasts, demons, disease, vermin or other dangerous, loathsome things. In The Human Child’s case, this is especially easy, since their foes are literally monsters. (and at the end of the Genocide Route, Chara talks about “eradicating the enemy”, rather than “monsters” or “opposition”) In theory, it would also be easy for the non-humans Asgore and Flowey, although the fact they both knew and loved a human would complicate matters.

## Discrepancies and Oddities with EXP

> “When you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases. What’s EXP? It’s an acronym. It stands for “execution points.” A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases.”

The fact EXP stands for “execution points” suggests it’s only possible to get through killing. However, the imprecise phrasing of the rest of the explanation doesn’t suggest EXP can only be gained through killing. If that were the case, it would say something like: “A way of quantifying the pain of the deaths you have inflicted.” Complicating things further, it is possible to kill painlessly. Furthermore, the explanation doesn’t say EXP is the only way to gain LOVE. After all, it doesn’t take killing to distance oneself from others, even to the point of wishing them harm (with or without actually hurting them).

If EXP comes from how much pain one inflicts, inflicting more pain would surely yield more EXP. Undyne the Undying, after all, has a truly massive amount of HP, which suggests she can potentially endure massive amounts of pain from damaging her, and she also gives a lot of EXP.

Still, no matter how strong the hit, or how overkill the kill, EXP yield is generally determined by the kind of monster. In a few circumstances, (first Froggit and other Froggits, picking on Loox and not picking on Loox) yields vary within the same kind of monster. Mettaton Neo, though killed in one hit regardless of the route, automatically sets EXP to 50,000 (LVL 19) on the Genocide Route, but yields only 10,000 EXP on a Neutral Route.

Complicating the matter, it’s possible to inflict pain without killing, such as through emotional pain. Although picking on Loox before killing it can increase the EXP yield of 7 up to 22, suggesting emotional pain can count, doing similar actions (such as heckling Snowdrake) doesn’t increase EXP yield.

It might seem as if lower-yield EXPs are less human-like or endearing, given the low-yield Froggit, Whimsun, and Moldsmal and how they can’t even talk. Mettaton EX and NEO, the most humanlike monsters fought, also yield the highest EXP. However, the many exceptions break the hypothesis. (And So Sorry, despite taking so many hits to kill, being pretty human-like in psychology, and clearly being in pain, yields only 1 EXP.)

One might think EXP varies so much as a matter of perception: Frisk’s personal tastes towards each monster cause different EXP yields. However, unlike LOVE, EXP focuses on effects on others: it seems an objective record of how much pain one has inflicted. Only Mettaton Neo and Sans auto-level Frisk to a specific LV upon their deaths. (Sans doesn’t even yield EXP, bizarrely)

Unfortunately, only Frisk gaining LOVE and EXP is covered in precise detail. Flowey and possibly Asgore might have also gained LOVE, but there’s no way to figure out their LOVE or EXP. Flowey’s case is especially tricky. As he was unable to feel love and compassion, he was detached from others even before he started killing. That brings up the question of whether removing someone’s ability to feel love and compassion automatically cause them to gain LOVE. What with Frisk being the player character and _Undertale_ being a forgiving sort of game, it’s hard to tell whether Frisk’s experience is typical for humans slaying monsters.

It’s possible a reasonable, quantified metaphor for detachment upon killing was, by necessity, mixed up with variable video-game mechanics to make for a better playing experience. Although EXP and/or LOVE could logically be gained in non-lethal ways, it is frustratingly unproven.

* * *

### Related Reading

[Another Way to Gain LOVE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19982332) (Outdated/alternate interpretation)


	2. Effects of LOVE

  
The Human’s psychological changes on the Genocide Route are well-studied: they act more impatient, violent, more willing to kill, and disinterested in things outside killing and progress. However…what about the Neutral Routes?

As much as the Genocide Route and high-LOVE Neutral Routes overlap in psychological effects, there are still some distinctions. Some psychological effects seem linked to murder counts or EXP, rather than LOVE, but as they’re no way to gain LOVE or EXP other than killing monsters, they will be considered as a whole for the Neutral Route.

## Effects

Even at one one kill (any EXP), the Human’s worldview seems more guilty or pessimistic. At only one kill, the bag of dog food in Alphys’ lab is described as “half-empty”, and Frisk has nothing to say to Asgore after pointing out how many times he killed them. Although it is possible to run away from fights, regardless of LOVE, at no kills Sans claims that Frisk ran away from fights “with a smile”, suggesting killing came at some loss of happiness.

Gaining LOVE seems associated with boredom and apathy, too. If the game is reloaded to before Sans’ judgment, and the human has killed even one person, Sans says: “huh? you look bored. i get the feeling you aren’t gonna learn anything from this.”  
Depending on LOVE, the messages for punching Mad Dummy differ, and the sentiment of apathy and not learning anything is similar to the second and third Mad Dummy punching descriptions. At LV 2-4, the sentiment is: “(You don’t feel like you’ve learned anything.)” and from LV 5-7, it is “(Who cares?)”

Similarly, LOVE apparently makes the human less concerned about _morality_ , even to the point of enjoying inflicting pain. With greater LOVE, the Mad Dummy punching messages become more violent and less guilty, until, at LV 8, the Human punches the dummy at full force and it “feels good”.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:1)  
Furthermore, though it’s possible to kill all available monsters and get the “But Nobody Came” message in the Neutral Route, the encounter symbol turns into a smiley face only in the Genocide Route. This might mean encountering monsters to kill, or anticipating killing them, is more enjoyable in the Genocide Route than in a high-LOVE Neutral Route.  
Additionally, more kills seems to make a crueller sense of humor. If the Canine Unit was killed, the text for the dog food is: “It’s half-empty. You remember something funny.” [2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:2)

Gaining LOVE apparently causes detachment from others and less empathy, and thus makes hurting others easier, or even more enjoyable. Nonetheless, high LOVE doesn’t guarantee eagerness or enjoyment for killing. Detachment, enjoying violence, and cruelty are different things, and it’s possible to do violent or callous things without cruel or hateful intentions. For example, though surgeons must harden their hearts to manage to slice open a human body, they are not cruel or violent. Papyrus also enjoys fighting, though he is kind and merciful.

Furthermore, psychological distancing is not the same as hate, and hatred may be a bigger factor for the Genocide Route than for the Neutral Route. A book from the Snowdin library claims:

> “If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken. And the crueller the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us. Therefore if a being with a powerful soul struck with a desire to kill…”

Even at equivalent LOVE, Toriel and Undyne both (technically, in Undyne’s case) die in one hit only in the Genocide Route. Toriel also says “Y…you…really hate me that much?” as she dies.[3](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:3) Oddly, although Mettaton NEO dies in one hit on a near-Genocide Neutral and Genocide route, even with the same LOVE, on a near-Genocide Route he says:

> “I can tell from that strike, darling. You were holding back. […]You aren’t absolutely evil.”

These suggests one or some of three things in the Genocide Route: that the human hates their targets, has cruel intentions for them, or has a greater intention to kill.[4](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:4) As murderous as a high LV Neutral Route Human could be, they don’t seem so hateful, driven, or uniformly cruel.

## Possible Support: Asgore and Gerson

It’s unclear whether Asgore killed humans himself, had them killed on his orders, or killed any humans in the first war. Although it’s impossible to outright _prove_ Asgore has gained LOVE, his behavior might also support pessimism and guilt as an effect of murder level, LOVE, or EXP.[5](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:5)

Asgore seems cheerful and happy, and until the Human shows up, there’s no sign of his guilt. Yet, he feels conflicted about his plan, and trapped within it. When defeated, he says he “cannot take this any longer” and wants to see his wife and child. (the latter of which he believes is dead) He solemnly says “the war has gone on long enough” and asks the human to take his SOUL (requiring killing him) and “leave this cursed place”.

If he is spared in the first fight, Asgore optimistically offers to take care of the human with his wife. If already fought, though, he dismisses the idea of taking care of Frisk as merely “a fantasy”, and it’s heavily implied he stabs himself with his trident, saying:

> “It pains me to give you this responsibility, but…Please. Take my soul…and seek the truth. […]I’m sorry…I couldn’t give you a simple, happy ending…”

It’s unclear whether this was a heroic sacrifice motivated by guilt, or an altruistic-seeming act of despair and cowardice. Still, either explanation suggests pessimism and/or guilt are side effects of gaining LOVE, EXP, or murder, and suggest Asgore doesn’t value his life as much as he once did.

Gerson, too, may have killed and gained LOVE, and this may explain his moments of pessimism and guilt. According to Undyne, Gerson “fought in the war between humans and monsters… And he survived! He’s a real hero!” In the Pacifist epilogue, he mentions he “used to be a hero myself, back in the old days”.  
Despite this, on the Genocide Route, he responds to the “fight” prompt with: “Nah, I’m not a hero. Never was.” Although he follows this with a mention of how old and unfit for fighting he is now, “never was” is notable because it means he wasn’t a hero _even in the war._ It is possible Gerson gained his fame for heroism specifically for fighting in the war between humans and monsters, and he may have killed humans.  
If Gerson indeed killed humans before, that might explain his mood about his alleged “heroism”: he feels guilty about his kills.  
Gaining LOVE might also explain his pessimism. Though he says nothing pessimistic on other routes,oOn the Genocide Route, he says:

> “Long ago, Asgore and I agreed that escaping would be pointless…since once we left, humans would just kill us. I felt a little betrayed when he eventually changed his mind.”

On other routes, he often laughs: this laughter may be a way to hide the pain. Alternatively, he’s not so burdened by the psychological effects of killing as Asgore, and his laugh indicates actual mirth unconnected to killing.

## Conclusion

LOVE, by itself, seems to increase psychological distancing, apathy, and pessimism or guilt. The distancing makes violent acts easier to do, and at high LOVE (LV 8 and above) the Human seems to find violent deeds more enjoyable. However, LOVE on the Neutral Route doesn’t make violence as enjoyable as for the Genocide Route. Gaining LOVE decreases empathy and possibly a concern for morality, and possibly makes a crueller sense of humor. However, if outside the Genocide Route, gaining LOVE doesn’t cause hatred. If Mettaton NEO’s claim is true, a Neutral Route human would be holding back relative to a Genocide Route human at the same LOVE.

* * *

  1. The fact Asgore doesn’t enjoy having to kill humans at all, and is holding back when attacking Frisk, might mean his LOVE is below 8. (again assuming LOVE has standardized psychological effects) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:1)

  2. <https://nochocolate.tumblr.com/post/148312488037/chara-likes-to-kill-for-fun-too> [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:2)

  3. <https://nochocolate.tumblr.com/post/175148592225/human-vs-monster>  
[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:3)

  4. Oddly, Toriel says nothing about the human being hateful if the Human does a betrayal kill. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:4)

  5. Interestingly, Toriel and Asgore have the same stats on their checks, which might mean they’ve killed similar numbers of humans. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:5)




**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.


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